Tiger soccer team rallies to defeat Eastern Florida State College in overtime
With its season hanging in the balance, the No. 3-seed Cowley College men’s soccer team rallied to force overtime at 1-1 against No. 6-seed Eastern Florida State College on Tuesday at the NJCAA Division I National Championships held in Daytona Beach, FL, and sent the Titans packing when the Tigers’ Alberto de Miguel scored the game-winner one minute and 18 seconds into overtime.
With the 2-1 win, Cowley has won seven games in a row and improved to 16-1-1 on the season.
The Titans had their season ended by Cowley for a second straight year, finishing the year with a record of 11-4-1.
On Tuesday, Cowley found themselves trailing for the majority of the game as Eastern Florida State College's Liam Kuemmritz scored with 19:07 remaining in the opening half.
The score would remain 1-0 in favor of the Titans before a foul was called in the box, giving Cowley a penalty kick with just over 10 minutes left in regulation. Tiger sophomore Renan Syrio calmly stepped up and drilled the penalty kick for his team-tying 12th goal of the season.
The score would remain tied until Alberto de Miguel sent the Tigers home a winner in overtime. The goal by de Miguel was his second of the season.
"It was a tough match, and starting behind made it even harder," Cowley head coach Marcos Ribeiro said. "But, at the end of the day, we were the team that deserved the win. Our boys stayed resilient and professional throughout the game, and I am proud of the entire team."
Cowley advances to face eighth-seed Indian Hills in Thursday's semifinals at 9 a.m. (CST). The Warriors (10-6-4) and Tigers faced each other on October 4, with Cowley winning 1-0 in Ottumwa, IA.
"We will face an Indian Hills team with which we are very familiar," Ribeiro said. "I am sure it will be a tough battle, as Indian Hills has good players all over the field, but I trust our group, and I know we have what it takes to get a good result on Thursday."
The winner of Thursday's semifinal contest will advance to Saturday's national title game at 2 p.m. (CST).